CHELSEA boss Maurizio Sarri must decide how much time he will give Alvaro Morata as his main man before turning to Olivier Giroud if he continues to struggle.

Sarri is determined to restore Morata to the dangerous front-man he was at Real Madrid and Juventus earlier in his career having struggled at Stamford Bridge.

The striker joined from Real in a deal worth up to £70million a year ago but after a bright start, his goals dried up and he ended the season clearly shorn of confidence with just one goal in 14 Premier League games beyond Boxing Day.

That saw the 25-year-old linked with a possible summer exit with Juventus No 9 Gonzalo Higuain said to be high on Sarri’s transfer wishlist - although the Argentine joined AC Milan on loan.

Despite Sarri’s vote of confidence, Morata has yet to reward his new boss - albeit early into the campaign - having had little to no impact in the Community Shield or their Premier League opener at Huddersfield last Saturday.

Maurizio Sarri can only give Alvaro Morata so long as first choice, believe Sherwood and Nicholas (Image: GETTY)

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Alvaro Morata scored 15 goals in 48 games in his first season (Image: GETTY)

But the Italian coach came out in support of his front-man ahead of today’s showdown with London rivals Arsenal (5.30pm), insisting: “I am not worried about Morata. He is a great player. I think that in this moment he needs only to gain confidence.”

Morata famously wasted a hat-trick of one-on-one chances when these two teams last met in the league, a game that ended in a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

The Spain international will hope to put things right this afternoon and ex-Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood and former Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas, speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate, believe that Sarri can only afford to give Morata so long if his doesn’t improve.

Sherwood said: “It’s a task for Maurizio to get him right and get him firing. It hasn’t happened up to now. It takes time for players to settle but I thought he got worse as the season went on last year.

“It’s about confidence with strikers. You need to put your arm around them, give them that shot in the arm and that confidence to hit the back of the net.

Maurizio Sarri will face a dilemma if Morata continues to misfire (Image: GETTY)

Alvaro Morata in action against Huddersfield last weekend (Image: GETTY)

“How long do you do that for? You can't relinquish points. Chelsea can't lose ground on the leaders, and you've got someone who is a World Cup winner in [Olivier] Giroud sat on the sidelines, who is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League. We saw what he did at Arsenal.

"He's a player who can come off the bench and score as well, he affects the game. I think he's their main threat. If you asked the number 10s around him, like Hazard and Willian, they probably play better with Giroud than they would with Morata at the moment.

“But it's up to Sarri to get the best out of him, and maybe that could be what he's good at. He won't give up on him yet, but it's how long he gives him. He's got someone in there like Gianfranco Zola who can help with that transition as well.

“We’re talking about one of the best players we've ever seen in the Premier League, and bringing Zola back to the club was a masterstroke and a great bit of business. He’ll be talking to the likes of Morata, telling him how good he is and what he can give to the side.

“He knows, the boy’s got history of playing at the top level and scoring goals, he just needs time to click in the Premier League. He had time last year but perhaps he was used in the wrong way.

How long do you do that for? You can't relinquish points. Chelsea can't lose ground on the leaders.

Tim Sherwood

“The manager will be telling him things have changed now, ‘It’s different now, a different chapter. We’re going to play to your strengths and we need you to score.’ And when he scores, maybe he gets confidence to go on to have a good season."

But fellow Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas believes that while Morata has obvious qualities, right now this Chelsea squad may be better served playing around Giroud.

He said: ”The first period of last season, I watched a lot of Chelsea, and Morata would battle away. I wasn't convinced he had that quality coming into the Premier League but he did show that quality.

“He would be on the turn and sometimes Hazard and others had to chase up to get close to him because he was that positive, and gradually it worked away from him.

Olivier Giroud is waiting in the wings at Chelsea (Image: GETTY)

Morata has shown his ability in flashes during his spell at Chelsea, according to Charlie Nicholas (Image: SKY SPORTS)

"If you remember early in the season Conte was complimenting him, ‘He's brilliant, he's a great lad, he's brilliant at this and that’ and then Morata ended up shaking his head every time he came off because it was as if Conte was picking on him.

"And when you're a striker, and you lose confidence, the worst part is when you're getting picked on and your number's coming up after 60 minutes every time.

“You know he [your manager] has lost faith in you, and then because that faith has gone, he [Morata] lost his edge. He became unconvincing in front of goal. In your head you think you work the same and you never do, you work in the wrong areas and that’s what he’s been doing.

"Then Giroud came in. He didn't really want him there, but he works in the right areas with Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Willian, and all the best players at Chelsea I think are more suited to the way that Giroud plays."